Textbook-Integrated Guide to Educational Resources

TIGER

Visualizing Numerical Methods (2)William F. ColemanThese movies are designed to help students visualize various numerical approaches to evaluating functions or solving equations. The methods themselves may be familiar to students from their mathematics courses, but they may have forgotten the material or never made the connection between a statement such as "the derivative of a curve at a given point is the slope of the line tangent to the curve at that point" and the way that one might evaluate such a derivative. All of the movies have VCR-style controls that enable the student to step through them one frame at a time and to move backwards as well as forwards.

Chemometrics

A Method of Visual Interactive RegressionMichelle S. Kim, Maureen Burkart, Myung-Hoon KimOver the past decade many colleges and universities have placed increased emphasis on having students develop statistical and data analysis skills in a range of disciplines. Some institutions now require that all students complete at least one course with a strong component of data analysis, whether the data are from chemical experiments, the census, or some other source. As chemists, one of our concerns should be to ensure that students view data analysis as an integral part of any quantitative experiment, and, as far as possible, do not treat this process as a black box. The authors of A Method of Visual Interactive Regression, a spreadsheet application, have developed a visual approach to linear least-squares curve fitting that drives home the idea of minimizing the sum of the squares of the deviations in order to find the best fit to a set of data that are being described by a linear relationship. For many students these visualizations are likely to persist a great deal longer than the mathematical derivations of the equation for the slope and the intercept. The visualizations will provide a useful connection between a set of equations and the buttons on a calculator or the insertion of a trendline in a spreadsheet.

Some Unusual Applications of the "Error-bar" Feature in Excel SpreadsheetsKieran F. LimNovel uses of the "error-bar" feature of spreadsheet packages in the areas of enzyme kinetics, vibrational spectroscopy, vibronic spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry are discussed. It is argued that using software features for purposes that were not envisioned by the programmers fosters flexibility and innovation.

Chemometrics |

Spectroscopy |

Enrichment / Review Materials

EquilibriumMatthew Sandberg, Mike BellamyUsing a visual approach, this applet is designed to help students learn to solve equilibrium calculations and also to help them gain a deeper understanding of the topic. It can be used by the instructor in the classroom as equilibrium topics are introduced. Sample exercises for students are included. The text is available in both English and Spanish.

JavaScript Programs To Calculate Thermodynamic Properties Using Cubic Equations of StatePatrick J. BarrieCubic equations of state are widely used by chemists and chemical engineers to predict the thermodynamic properties of both pure substances and mixtures. In particular, these equations enable predictions concerning the temperature and pressure at which vapor liquid equilibrium occurs. These two educational JavaScript programs perform calculations using cubic equations of state and, equally importantly, explain how the calculations are performed.